Newmarket neighborhood awoken by gunfire

Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 2:00 AM

NEWMARKET — Two men are facing felony charges after police and Seacoast Emergency Response Team members swarmed a home at 6 Salmon St. on Friday morning following reports of multiple shots fired from the residence.

Jason Schreiber

NEWMARKET — Two men are facing felony charges after police and Seacoast Emergency Response Team members swarmed a home at 6 Salmon St. on Friday morning following reports of multiple shots fired from the residence.

Both men are being held on $7,500 cash bail at the Rockingham County jail and will be arraigned Monday in the Brentwood Circuit Court.

Newmarket police said they executed a search warrant at the residence after the men surrendered and recovered firearms and ammunition, including spent rounds, inside and outside of the residence.

A tense scene began unfolding around 6:30 a.m., when officers from dozens of local law enforcement agencies descended on the neighborhood after police received three calls reporting shots being fired in "rapid succession" from the house, according to Newmarket Police Chief Kevin Cyr.

"Witnesses saw gunfire coming from the house; a person inside the house shooting out of the house. Multiple shots were heard. Officers were able to secure the area as much as they could and called for backup," Cyr said.

While it appeared the shots were fired randomly from the home, police have not released a motive.

Police were able to contact the two men inside the single-family residence and "talked them out," Cyr said.

The shooting incident comes less than three weeks after Brentwood police officer Stephen Arkell was shot and killed when he responded to a verbal domestic dispute at a Brentwood home.

Many of the police agencies that responded to that deadly shooting on May 12 in Brentwood also arrived to assist Newmarket police.

"What came to mind for me was, in a small town the chief sometimes is the first responder like everybody else. I had two guys out there and my immediate concern was, 'I've got two guys there at a shots-fired call. Are they OK?' I was able to get on scene and see that at this point the gunfire has stopped," Cyr said.

The two men were arrested while authorities remained at the scene searching for evidence. They cleared the scene around 12:30 p.m.

Shortly after police arrived at the scene, members of the Seacoast Emergency Response Team were called in with their armored BearCat vehicle along with the Warrant Entry Team from the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department, which arrived with its Humvee.

Cyr said no shots were fired at officers and no one was injured in the incident.

Witnesses told police that shots were being fired from the front and rear of the residence.

Cyr said he's not sure yet what type of firearm was used.

The shooting incident prompted the evacuation of nearby homes. While Salmon Street remained closed by late morning, Cyr said, residents were allowed to return to their homes.

A resident who lives in the area said she saw officers early Friday morning with rifles rushing around while a child walked past in the area. "It was surreal," she said. The resident said police cars and fire vehicles were parked on sidewalks and lawns.

School buses were rerouted to stay clear of the area of the incident.

Some neighbors said they heard the first round of gunshots before 6 a.m.

"They actually woke me up. Then I started to wonder, 'Did I just dream that or is somebody starting their pneumatic tools early.' Then, about 15 minutes after that, I heard boom, boom, boom, boom. Somebody emptied a clip," said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified.

The neighbor said police arrived a short time later and told nearby residents to either leave or head to their basements.

"We just stayed in our basement with our coffee," he said.

Another neighbor said she heard several shots as well.

"The next thing we knew the police were here," she said.

Police carrying rifles quickly began surrounding the home and kept an eye on the residence from other nearby properties. Some took position behind bushes, rocks and other homes.

Neighbors said Henderson lives alone at the home. They said he has lived there for about two years.

"He keeps to himself," said one woman, who was outside checking her own vehicles to make sure none were hit by the bullets.

A black Chevy Silverado pickup truck with Maine license plates, believed to belong to Givens, was parked along Salmon Street in front of the residence. Neighbors said the truck arrived Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Residents praised police for their quick response.

"I'm glad they responded the way they did. I don't think it was overkill. They knew somebody had a gun. They didn't know how many people were inside the house," a neighbor said.

All Newmarket schools were also ordered to "shelter in place" as a result of the incident, but the order was lifted around 9:45 a.m., after school officials received word that there was no longer a threat.

"We immediately initiated our shelter-in-place protocol, in which students do not go outside — including students in modular — for classes, services or recess. Students were allowed to move to classes throughout the building, but no staff or students were allowed to leave the building without administrative approval," Newmarket Elementary School Principal Tom Higginbotham said in an alert to parents.

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